Lakeside
by secretfanficlover
Summary: Padma and Luna sitting by the lake, just enjoying being together.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

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Word Count: 929

Title: Lakeside

Warnings: anxiety

Beta: Verity Grahams

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Hogwarts

Assignment 9: Beauty Therapy: Spa Day: Task #8 - Head Massage: Write about a character playing with another's hair.

Yearly:

Prompt 312 [Pairing] Padma/Luna

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"Padma, come here," Luna said with a grin, pulling the other girl into her arms and kissing her. Padma giggled.

"What's that for?" she asked, checking if someone saw them. Padma wasn't sure what her parents would think of her relationship, she often wished she had it as easy as Parvati. It was so much simpler when you liked men.

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Padma had, had relationships before, but she found the boys were immature, and they had little to no interest in getting to know her. They just wanted to kiss her and satisfy those needs. To be perfectly honest, she just didn't feel attracted to them. She didn't feel her heart flutter when a boy touched her hand, which was what her sister had always said. She didn't see a boy in class and feel butterflies erupt in her stomach as she imagined kissing him. Padma then decided to put all thoughts of romantic entanglements at bay, maybe it just wasn't for her.

She and Luna had started as simple study companions, and therefore they spoke a lot. Padma had preconceived notions about the girl, everyone knew Luna was loopy, after all. She soon started to realise there wasn't anything strange about Luna at all, in fact, she thought there was something marvellous about Luna.

She noticed how clever she was, and how brilliant her mind worked; Luna thought about things like no one else, so outside of the box. Padma noticed her hair, her eyes, she noticed that Luna was pretty, more than that, she was beautiful.

Padma remembered when Luna first told her that she liked her. They had been friends for well over a month, and Padma finally felt those butterflies that her sister had always mentioned. She never felt this way before, she imagined holding Luna's hand; it made her heart race. Was this what falling in love felt like? Soon she could waste time thinking about how it would feel to be held by her, to finally have her lips against Luna's. Padma was nervous though, and Luna had let them take things slow, making sure Padma didn't feel pressured in any way. Padma quickly learned that it wasn't that she didn't want intimacy, it's just that she needed the emotional connection first, a connection with the mind and who that person was. She wasn't at all interested in strangers.

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The two of them were standing on the grass by the lake. Padma held onto her girlfriend's hand and then pulled softly for her to sit down. She felt safe with Luna's arm around her, no fear of the judgement could get passed the blonde girls embrace.

"No reason, just because I love you," Luna said.

The two of them were watching the light reflecting off the lake, the sunset was mirrored in the perfectly still water. Suddenly a magpie flew by and landed right by the edge of the lake. Everything was peaceful, perfect and beautiful. They sat together as they watched the magpie pecking at the ground, and the sun glistening on the lake.

Padma saw something shiny, and the magpie grabbed a small pebble and flew off with it in his beak. She watched it fly into the woods and sighed.

"Isn't it beautiful outside today?" Luna asked her.

Padma nodded, smiling as she rested her head in the crook of Luna's neck. She let her mind wander, mulling over what all of this meant. Although, Padma had given up fighting when she first felt Luna's soft lips kiss her and the butterflies in her stomach went crazy. The feeling was intoxicating, and she didn't want to fight it.

Padma's favourite thing when she was in her own world was when Luna just sat with her playing with her hair. Sure enough, as her mind drifted, Luna's hands moved towards her loose hair and took out a Ravenclaw scrunchie. Her deft fingers played with the long strands of hair, combing through her long shadowy locks. She focused on the feeling of Luna, gently pulling and braiding her hair. This was her best way to solve life's problems, and if anyone spotted them beside the lake, they simply looked like two best friends.

Suddenly, Padma's sister walked over, and subconsciously Padma shut down. She looked over and smiled at Parvati.

"Hi, you two," Parvati smiled to the two of them.

"Hello," Luna greeted, her hands still focused on Padma's long black locks.

Padma knew that Luna felt her go stiff at her sister's appearance, and soon let the hair fall from between her fingers. She wished she had the courage her sister had, the courage to reach out and take a crush's hand.

Parvati didn't stay and chat for long, it was clear she found Luna to be ... _unusual,_ just like most people did. As soon as her sister disappeared, she turned to look at Luna, fear and guilt written all over her face. Her girlfriend showed only patience.

"I'm not ashamed of you," she muttered, feeling the lie on her lips. "At least— I mean— I don't want to be," she admitted reluctantly.

"I know you love me, Padma. It's hard that you don't understand that I _can_ wait," Luna said.

Luna reached for Padma's hand, which in her nervousness had caused her fingernails to find their way to her mouth.

"I don't know why," she admitted.

"Because you're beautiful, talented, and intelligent," Luna whispered, taking the hand and kissing the back of it slowly.

Padma laughed again. "You treat me like a princess," she said.

Luna smiled. "And I always will…"


End file.
